[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 139 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43103-43104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18404]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an 
Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative 
Licensing Process

July 15, 2003.
    a. Type of Application: New License for Major Project.
    b. Project No.: 2216-058.
    c. Applicant: New York Power Authority.
    d. Project Name: Niagara Power Project.
    e. Location: The existing project is located in Niagara County, New 
York, on the Niagara River, a 35-mile-long waterway that connects Lake 
Erie and Lake Ontario and is boundary water between the United States 
and Canada. There are no Federal lands within the project boundary.
    f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    g. Applicant Contact: Keith Silliman, Director, Niagara 
Relicensing, New York Power Authority, 30 South Pearl Street, Albany, 
New York 12207-3425, (518) 433-6735.
    h. FERC Contact: Patti Leppert at (202) 502-6034, or 
[email protected].
    i. Deadline for Filing Scoping Comments: October 14, 2003.
    All comments and correspondence (original and eight copies) should 
be filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Correspondence 
should clearly show the following caption on the first page: Scoping 
Comments, Niagara Power Project, FERC No. 2216-058.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) Rules of 
Practice and Procedure require that a copy of all documents filed with 
the Commission be served on each person on the official service list 
for the project. Furthermore, if comments or documents filed with the 
Commission relate to the merits of an issue that may affect the 
responsibilities of a particular resource agency, a copy of the 
document also must be served on that resource agency.
    Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in 
lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. 
See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's 
Web site ( http://www.ferc.gov ) under the ``e-Filing'' link.
    j. The existing 2,538-megawatt project consists of: (1) Two 700-
foot-long intake structures located on the upper Niagara River about 
2.6 miles upstream from the American Falls; (2) two 4.3-mile-long 
concrete underground water supply conduits, each measuring 46 feet wide 
by 66.5 feet high; (3) a forebay; (4) the Lewiston Pump-Generating 
Plant, measuring 975 feet long by 240 feet wide by 160 feet high; (5) 
the 1,900-acre Lewiston reservoir at a maximum water surface elevation 
of 658 feet United States Lake Survey Datum; (6) the Robert Moses 
Niagara Power Plant, including an intake structure, measuring 1,100 
feet long by 190 feet wide by 100 feet high; (7) a switch yard; and (8) 
appurtenant facilities.
    k. Scoping Process: The New York Power Authority (Power Authority) 
is utilizing the Commission's Alternative Licensing Process (ALP). 
Under the ALP, the Power Authority will prepare an Applicant-Prepared 
Environmental

[[Page 43104]]

Assessment (APEA) and license application for the Niagara Power 
Project. The Power Authority expects to file, with the Commission, the 
license application and APEA for the Niagara Power Project by August 
31, 2005.
    The Commission staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) on the project in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The EA will consider both site-specific and 
cumulative environmental effects and reasonable alternatives to the 
proposed action. These scoping meetings will satisfy the scoping 
requirements, pursuant to NEPA, as amended.
    The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the opportunity to 
participate in the scoping meetings, identified below.
    i. Scoping Meetings: Information presented at the scoping meetings 
will: (1) Provide a brief overview of the Niagara Power Project; (2) 
provide a brief overview of the ALP for relicensing the project; (3) 
provide a discussion of the issues identified for analysis in the APEA 
and those not requiring analysis; and (4) solicit comments from the 
public on Scoping Document 1.
    The staff from New York State Department of Environmental 
Conservation will provide an overview of the State's regulatory process 
and its role in the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project.
    The Commission staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and 
one public meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource 
agency, Indian Tribes, and non-governmental organizations concerns, 
while the public scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All 
interested agencies, Indian Tribes, organizations, and individuals are 
invited to attend one or both meetings, and assist the staff in 
identifying the scope of the environmental issues that should and 
should not be analyzed in the APEA. The location and times of these 
meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003.
    Time: 2 p.m.
    Address: Niagara Falls High School Amphitheater, 4455 Porter Road, 
Niagara Falls, New York.

Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003.
    Time: 7 p.m.
    Address: Same as agency scoping meeting.
    To help focus the discussions, Scoping Document 1 will be issued in 
late July 2003, and will be on the Niagara Power Project's relicensing 
Web site at http://niagara.nypa.gov. Scoping Document 1 will also be 
available in the Public Information File, located at the Niagara Power 
Project Power Vista, and at the following public libraries: Lewiston 
Public Library; Niagara Falls Public Library; Lockport Public Library; 
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library; North Tonawanda Public Library; 
and Grand Island Public Library.
    A copy of Scoping Document 1 will be available for review at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the 
Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``FERRIS'' link. 
Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket 
number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support at [email protected], or toll-free at 1-866-
208-3676, or for TTY (202) 502-8659.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov.esubscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filings 
and issuances related to the Niagara Power Project or other pending 
projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. ii. Meeting 
Procedures: The scoping meetings will be conducted according to the 
procedures used at Commission scoping meetings. The meetings will be 
recorded by a stenographer and will become a part of the formal record 
of the proceedings on the project.
    Interested agencies, Indian Tribes, organizations, and individuals 
are invited and encouraged to attend and assist in identifying and 
clarifying the scope of issues that should and should not be analyzed 
in the APEA. Speaking time allowed for individuals will be determined 
before each meeting, based on the number of persons wishing to speak 
and the approximate amount of time available for the meeting. Persons 
choosing not to speak, but wishing to express an opinion, as well as 
speakers unable to summarize their positions within the allotted time, 
may submit written statements for inclusion in the public record.
    Written scoping comments may also be mailed to Keith Silliman, 
Director, Niagara Relicensing, New York Power Authority, 30 South Pearl 
Street, Albany, New York 12207-3425, by October 14, 2003. For further 
information, please contact Keith Silliman of NYPA at (518) 433-6735; 
Patti Leppert of Commission staff, at (202) 502-6034; or Steve Kartalia 
of Commission staff, at (202) 502-6131.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-18404 Filed 7-18-03; 8:45 am]
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